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Mickelson revels in British Open win

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Mickelson revels in British Open win 02:40

But Merrick, who equaled the course record on Friday with a round of 62, couldn't capitalize on Mahan's unexpected exit and slipped down the field to 12th place with only a handful of holes left to play on Saturday.

Instead, it was Brandt Snedeker who seized the initiative firing a nine-under par round of 63.

The Nashville native is 14-under par, one shot ahead of Sweden's David Lingmerth whose round of 65 included an eagle three at the last.

American's Matt Kuchar and Jason Bohn are one shot further back on 12-under following rounds of 64 and 66 respectively while Dustin Johnson is in a four-way tie for fifth after shooting 63 earlier in the day.

Johnson, who played with Mahan in the first two rounds, is tied on 11-under par with compatriot's Kyle Stanley and Charley Hoffman and England's Greg Owen.

"I know it's one of those situations where you probably wouldn't expect him to have to leave. But sometimes that's just how it works. He's playing really well right now, but yeah, I mean, things happen, and obviously I'm in a good position for going into tomorrow," he added, PGATour.com reported.